Kelli M. Kennaday

Shareholder

PRACTICE AREAS

Represents employers in all aspects of employment-related disputes, including litigation before all State and Federal Courts and Administrative Agencies. 

Provides counseling and training regarding best practices relating to hiring, discipline and termination. 

Conducts workplace investigations, including investigations covered by the Peace Officers and Firefighters Bills of Rights. 

Conducts mediations in employments cases.

EDUCATION

University of California, Davis School of Law

Juris Doctorate, 1991

National Order of Barristers

Roger J. Traynor Moot Court Competition State Semi-Finalist

American Jurisprudence Award Recipient, Constitutional Law

​University of California, San Diego

Bachelor of Arts, Biochemistry/Cell Biology, 1988

Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, 1988

Regents' Scholar

Provost Honors List

​EMPLOYMENT

Kennaday Leavitt PC, 2016 to present

Chief Executive Officer and Partner

Head of Labor and Employment Law Practice

Kennaday, Leavitt & Daponde PC, 2014 to 2016

Chief Executive Officer and Partner

Head of Labor and Employment Law Practice

​Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP, 1991 to 2013

Partner and Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section, 1997-2013

Executive Committee, 2008-2011

HONORS AND AWARDS

AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell since 2006

Sacramento Business Journal, Best of the Bar 2016

Northern California Super Lawyers List 2011 to 2017

​SEMINARS/PRESENTATIONS

Greater Stockton Employer Advisory Council, 2014

Social Media in the Workplace

California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA), 2014

Employment Law Update and Wage/Hour Case Study

Primerus Business Law Institute, 2013

Satisfaction Guaranteed: Devising an Internal Investigation that will satisfy everyone from the Business Unit to the Jury

Association of Workplace Investigators, 2013

Public Sector Workplace Investigations

CHI/Optima Risk Forum, 2010

Today's Essential Elements in Employment

Practice Liability

Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, 2008

Metro Chamber Executive Briefing:

Wage and Hour – Current and Future Efforts to modernize the State’s Wage and Hour Laws

Sacramento Valley Paralegal Association, 2007

Update on New Developments in Employment Law

Ulrich, Nash & Gump, Inc., 2005

Recent Developments in Sexual Harassment

Ulrich, Nash & Gump, Inc., 2005

Recent Developments in Wage and Hour Law

California Society of Dermatology Annual Meeting, 2005

Employment Law:  What Physicians Need to Know

Council on Education in Management, 2004

California Personnel Law Update 2004

Protecting Your Organization from Mounting

Workplace Harassment, Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims

California Society of Dermatology Annual Meeting, 2002

Employment Law Primer for the Medical Practitioner

​PUBLICATIONS

Kennaday, California Supreme Court Rules on Administrative Exemption for Overtime Pay

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2012)

​Kennaday/Clary, How will the Affordable Care Act Affect Employers?

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2012)

​Kennaday, Death of the “Stray Remarks” Doctrine in California: What it Means for Workplace Investigators

CAOWI Quarterly (2011)

​Kennaday, The Devil is in the Details:  Lessons from Ohton v. Board of Trustees of the California State University

CAOWI Quarterly (2011)

​Kennaday, One Firm’s Journey: Moving Away from the Traditional Managing Partner Model

DRI Annual Law Practice Management Review (2010)

​Kennaday, Discrimination, Retaliation, and You: The Original Victim Of Discrimination Is Not The Only One Who Can Sue

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2009)

​Kennaday, Navigating the Rocky Shoals of Layoffs, Furloughs & RIFs

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2009)

​Kennaday, A Court Finally Brings Sanity To Meal And Rest Break Rules But Employers Are Not Out Of The Woods Just Yet

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2008)

​Kennaday, 2008 Legislative Update

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2008)

​Kennaday, Failure To Notify Employee Of COBRA Rights May Subject Employer To Liability

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2006)

​Kennaday, Reviewing Your Human Resources Policies And Procedures: What You Should Look For and What Can Happen If You Don’t

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2005)

​Kennaday, New Defense for Employers in Harassment Cases:  How Your Diligence Can Protect You From Multimillion Dollar Claims

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2004)

Kennaday, Common Sense Tips for Avoiding and Preventing Employment-Related Claims

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2002)

​Kennaday, The High Cost of Misclassifying Your Employees

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2001)

​Kennaday, Covenants Not to Compete – Not Only Unenforceable in California, They May Subject You to Liability

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (2001)

​Kennaday, California Adopts New Overtime Requirements for Veterinarians and Technicians Who Provide Animal Care

California Veterinary Medical

Association Update!  (2000)

​Kennaday, Dealing with Disgruntled Employees:  Proceed with Caution

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney

Labor and Employment News (2000)

​Kennaday, California’s Ever Changing Overtime Requirements

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (1999)

​Kennaday, Your Employee’s Last Paycheck – Don’t Make Costly Mistakes

Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP

Labor and Employment News (1998)

​Kennaday, Sexual Harassment Myths Shattered by Recent Court Rulings

Council On Education In Management

California Personnel Update (1997)

Kennaday, The Confidentiality of Peer Review Records:  Punishing Physicians for the Sins of the Legislature

48 Sacramento Medicine 23 (1997)

​Kennaday, Just Who Is Your Patient, Anyway? Special Precautions for Physicians Examining Workers' Compensation Claimants

46 Sacramento Medicine 25 (1995)

​Hoffelt and Kennaday, Peer Review: An Unwitting Victim of Criminal Negligence?

42 Sacramento Medicine 21 (1991)

​PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ACTIVITIES

100+ Women Who Care, Sacramento Valley, 2015-present

​Association of Workplace Investigators, 2012-2015

  •  Board member, 2012-2015

  •  Chair, Seminars and Webinars Committee, 2013-2014

Pathway to Prevention, 2010-present

​Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, 2008-present

​Wonder, Inc Mentor, 2006-2007

​VDRP Neutral, U.S.D.C., Eastern District of California, 2004-present

​State Bar of California

  • Labor and Employment Law Section, 1999-present

​Sacramento County Barristers' Club

  • Past-President, 1997

  • President, 1996

  • Vice-President, 1995

  • Board Member, 1994

 Sacramento County Bar Association

  • Bar Council, 1996-1997

​Sacramento Ballet Board of Trustees

  • Board member and Officer, 1994-1997

  • Chair, Fund Development Committee, 1995-1997

​American Inns of Court, 1991-1993